It's sporting a recent paint job, but it's a driver, and has numerous non-original items, so its street value isn't in the insane range of the numbers-matching, garage queen C2 cars. The engine, transmission, differential, wheels, side pipes and power steering are not original, as are numerous other smaller items. The carpet is worn completely through in one area, there's a crack in the dash pad on the passenger's side, the rear window is starting to get cloudy, etc. And, it needs some things done to it, which I'm chipping away at. But, it's a fun car, and I'm not afraid to drive it, whereas I'd probably be nervous about it if it were a museum-quality specimen. In a sense, it's perfect because it isn't.

Live well,

SJW

 

I understand what you mean, Im never going to be afraid to drive my car, thats why i bought it. I have no illusion that my cars ever going to bring the kind of money cars of your vettes era can bring.
But that car in that shape with the few items you mentioned is worth many times more than my car . putting money into your car only increases its value

 

I think it's unfortunate that the street values of so many older vehicles have skyrocketed in recent years. The ego-driven bidding by drunken fools with fat wallets has gotten truly insane. And then there are the C4 Corvettes. One of the best kept secrets out there in the world of used vehicle bargains. IMHO, this is a good thing. It permits us to acquire one of these great machines at a very reasonable price of entry. These are among the best bang/buck choices out there.

Nobody in their right mind should be looking at any vehicle as an investment that should be expected to produce growth in value. At best, by the time you subtract out the carrying costs of taxes, insurance, registration, storage, maintenance, etc, in almost all cases you'll actually lose $$$ over the years of ownership, and in all but the rarest of cases, even if you come out ahead, you'd have done much better in a simple S&P 500 index fund.

The advantage to owning some vehicles is that they stand a good chance of not depreciating while we own them. Contrast that with the typical depreciation of whatever most folks use for daily transportation. The C4 is truly at the sweet spot on the depreciation curve. Most of them have lost just about as much market value as they're likely to lose. So, if we buy a fine specimen that won't require us to dump buckets of cash into it to keep it going or to improve its condition, we're coming out ahead in a relative sense.

Some things can be too easy to rationalize.

Live well,

SJW

 

Truly well said, after I read your comment i decided to look on the net, and try and find articles about why this particular car has been so maligned over the years? all i found was that mostly non corvette enthusiast's When they see that car from those years? pretty much didn't like the people who owned them. 90% of the time it had nothing to do with the cars,

so whatever that means..i think the tide is turning in the way these cars are perceived, and hopefully enough good examples keep showing up at car events, that the C4 car will again take its place as just another cool classic car in the history books. value of any certain car is pretty much determined by the amount of interest in the cars, I dont see the values sky rocketing, but like any other classic car? value is dictated by condition

I seen a 1989 auto coupe C4 corvette go for 25,250, no miles, but still, if the MSRP was 32k, in 89, my guess is that car sold for in the high 20's, its not in the to distant future, these cars in pristine shape move at good values, then you'll see a trend to put these cars back to original condition...and the era of the cheap C4 car may end sooner than we think.

 

When I hear people speaking disdainfully of the C4, I'll sometimes ask them which model years they've driven, which powertrain package those cars had, etc. I get a variety of answers, some of which are "I've never driven one," and others that often make it clear they've either never driven one, or have never driven one that had been cared for.

I think a lot of those who disparage the C4 do so because the body styling is so much more subdued than was the case with all of the preceding generations of Corvettes. And, truth be told, I too was very underwhelmed by the styling for years. After I drove a six-speed C4 for the first time (it was an L98), I began to reconsider my thoughts about the cars. And now, the body style has really grown on me, although I still prefer the later-C4 body over the earlier cars. Just my own personal taste.

I also think the lengthy production run of the C4, combined with the quantity of them that were commonly seen on the road until recent years, tended to dull the interest in them. Now that they're seldom seen on the road, they seem to be catching more notice than had been the case years ago.

It will be a sad day for shoppers if the era of cheap C4s comes to an end. But, it'll be interesting to see what happens to the market for these if those who were young when these cars were new, and who couldn't afford them until later in life, start pursuing them in big enough numbers.

Live well,

SJW

 

Right now in southern california, C4 is now rare to find and a barely-running l98 model is going for 5k to 7k and lt-1 above 10k for a beater. Too much money floating around. I am guessing it has something to do with all the conservatives moving out of california.

 

And so it begins. Interesting...

Live well,

SJW

 

Seeing C4 cars on the road is becoming a little less common, even at local cars and coffee, i rarely see one, they either aren't running, or are in dis-repair? the cars have a healthy engine and transmission, if well taken care of, but the electronics on these cars can go bizerk in short order, actually finding one well sorted and fixed correctly will soon be a challenge. Mostly ive gotten strangers that walk up to my car, and say, i remember those, and basically thats what i remember, its in near perfect shape.

The more of them i see with engine swaps, built motors, stripped and made into something different, racing harnesses, all manner of up grades, the happier i am about the prospects of the car increasing in value. mostly those cars are great for the hot rodder, and tinkerer, but its just another C4 pretty much gone. they draw a lot of attention, but... far as value?..probably never going to find some sap willing to pay the cost of the mods, let alone the car itself. Im aware this post may get some flack, but before you scorch me, To each there own, its your car have at it. but I've seen enough subjects about tearing the car done and rebuilding it better, which is perfcetly fine, but weve all seen this phenomenon before, stock cars in great condition always remain high on the value list. And the higher the value, soon those guys who flocked to the hot rodded cars, will soon be standing around the stock version, and admiring the engineering that went into making the C4 a production car.

 

Good points, all.

One thing to consider, that has undoubtedly kept the street values of these cars low, is the production quantity. IIRC, somewhere around 350,000 of them left Bowling Green.

Failing electronic modules on these cars are almost certain to be a contributor to why they're seldom seen on the roads today.

And, to your final point, which a lot of people don't consider until after they've waded into that swamp, is that nobody should ever expect almost any car to not depreciate unless it has strong collector interest, and even then, there are no guarantees. Further, nobody should ever expect to recover the cash they pour into hot-rodding. With the exception of the high-buck "resto-mods" of cars that already have strong collector value, hot-rodding, racing, and modifying cars is something that should be done only to satisfy the person who's doing it. It should be regarded as sunk cost. And, often, it kills buyer interest in the car entirely, especially if it was poorly done, or done tastelessly.

Live well,

SJW

 

I agree 100% overall, you can never recoup cost on hot rods, they are unique cars usually built to the designers tastes. They are fun to look at, and interesting to hear about the project, and keeps the aftermarket companies producing parts that would otherwise have long since gone away. in the purest sense of the word, both enthusiasts help each other.

I can turn a wrench, and i have no problem working on these cars, but only to the level of keeping the car in good repair. in my opinion the design is perfect the way it is.

As far as the production number for the C4 corvette, one needs only to look at the production numbers of the Ford Mustang in 2 years? 64 to 66, they produced and sold over 1 million cars! A car that sold for a scant $2600 bucks.

A feat that took corvette 39 YEARS to do! So in comparison, The production numbers for the C4 corvette, for total units sold in its 12 yr run? actually seem a bit dismal by comparison, but in those 12 years, you start looking at the special runs, and special optioned cars, the numbers get low pretty quickly.

The avg mustang today sells for 20 to 30 grand, original, un-molested, V8 car , convertible, or fast back. and if it was a shelby? good grief...the numbers are outright staggering.

2 decades ago I could have bought a pristine Mustang in near mint condition for about 10 grand / or a little less, Imagine what the next 2 decades will do for the C4 corvette? since the 2 cars are basically 20 years to the day! apart in age.